Get you up to speed: Abusers are Misusing Doorbell Cameras and Smart Sunglasses as Weapons | News UK
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan announced a £6 million fund to combat tech-facilitated abuse, which has seen a significant rise in recent years according to Refuge and UCL research.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched a £6 million fund to combat the rising instances of tech-related abuse, highlighting its urgency and complexity.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced a £6 million fund aimed at addressing tech-enabled violence against women and girls in collaboration with Refuge and UCL.
What we know so far
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced a £6 million fund to combat the rise of tech-facilitated abuse, which he describes as a ‘global emergency’. The initiative aims to address serious threats posed by devices like doorbell cameras and smart glasses, which can be exploited by perpetrators to harass women and girls.
Khan’s remarks highlight a significant shift in domestic abuse, with recent research from University College London (UCL) and domestic abuse charity Refuge revealing a staggering 207% increase in referrals for tech-related abuse between 2018 and 2024. This includes abuses like AI-generated deepfakes and coercion through digital means.
The funding is part of a broader strategy to engage with survivors, campaigners, and tech leaders to create effective solutions. Emma Pickering from Refuge welcomed the announcement, stating that sustainable funding is crucial for providing necessary support to victims of tech-facilitated abuse. She emphasised the need for ongoing commitments and a proactive approach from tech companies to design safer products.
Khan underscored the urgent necessity for a collective response, stating that the rapid advancement of technology has created new avenues for abuse, warning that this trend must be tackled before it spirals further out of control.
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Doorbell cameras and smart sunglasses are being ‘turned into weapons’ by abusers | News UK
New tech that allows people to surreptitiously film their surroundings and monitor movements are being wielded as ‘weapons’ by abusers, Sadiq Khan has warned.
Doorbell cameras, smart glasses and mobile phones have made it easier than ever for people to capture images without anyone else knowing.
Research from University College London (UCL) and domestic abuse charity Refuge shows these new capabilities have been a boon for harassers, stalkers and gaslighters.
Between 2018 and 2024, Refuge reported a 207% increase in referrals for tech-related abuse – including AI-generated deepfakes, revenge porn and sextortion.
Referrals rose a further 62% between 2024 and 2025, and the charity said most cases of domestic abuse now involve the ‘weaponisation of technology’.
UCL researchers found examples of doorbell devices that could livestream footage without giving any clear signal to those around it that it is active.
Another smart home hub had a blinking green LED to show when someone was actively watching the livestream images, but left no notifications or record once the person stopped.
The researchers wrote: ‘Individuals with this smart home hub in their household thus have no immediate, on-device means of checking if their camera was accessed, by whom or when.’
Today, Khan has announced a £6 million fund to help tackle the horrifying issue.
The Mayor of London said: ‘Tech-enabled Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a global emergency.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 WTX launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
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‘It transcends borders and the rapid pace of technology has provided new spaces and means for men to monitor, harass and control women and girls using everyday devices.
‘It is turning doorbell cameras, social media, sunglasses and mobile phones into weapons used by perpetrators to target, harass and abuse in the digital age.
‘The growth of other forms of tech enabled abuse such as revenge porn, online harassment and AI deepfakes underlines the urgent need to respond.’
Khan said his fund will ‘spearhead an urgent new approach’, working with survivors, campaigners, academic experts, policy makers and tech leaders.
Emma Pickering, the head of the tech-facilitated abuse team at Refuge, told WTX: ‘With services being chronically stretched to their limits, sustainable funding for specialist support is vital.
‘The announcement of a funding boost to support survivors of tech-facilitated abuse is a much-needed step in the right direction, signifying welcome recognition of the seriousness of this horrific form of VAWG, which continues to grow in scale and complexity.’
She added: ‘To provide survivors with the lifesaving support they deserve, we need to see ongoing commitments to sustainable funding.
‘This must come alongside meaningful efforts from tech companies to prevent abuse by taking a safety by design approach to the development of services and products.’
Great article! This really puts things into perspective. I appreciate the thorough research and balanced viewpoint.
Interesting read, though I think there are some points that could have been explored further. Would love to see a follow-up on this topic.
Thanks for sharing this! I had no idea about some of these details. Definitely bookmarking this for future reference.
Well written and informative. The examples provided really help illustrate the main points effectively.
This is exactly what I was looking for! Clear, concise, and very helpful. Keep up the excellent work!